Definitions for tough
tʌftough

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. street fighter, tough(noun)

   someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing

2. hood, hoodlum, goon, punk, thug, tough, toughie, strong-armer(noun)

   an aggressive and violent young criminal

3. bully, tough, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo(adj)

   a cruel and brutal fellow

4. tough(adj)

   not given to gentleness or sentimentality

   "a tough character"

5. rugged, tough(adj)

   very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution

   "a rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough life"; "it was a tough job"

6. tough, toughened(adj)

   physically toughened

   "the tough bottoms of his feet"

7. sturdy, tough(adj)

   substantially made or constructed

   "sturdy steel shelves"; "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some plastics are as tough as metal"

8. ruffianly, tough(adj)

   violent and lawless

   "the more ruffianly element"; "tough street gangs"

9. bad, tough(adj)

   feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')

   "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night"

10. tough(adj)

    resistant to cutting or chewing

11. hard, tough(adj)

    unfortunate or hard to bear

    "had hard luck"; "a tough break"

12. baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical, tough(adj)

    making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe

    "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tough(Noun)

   A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.

   They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.

2. tough(Verb)

   To endure.

3. tough(Verb)

   To toughen.

4. tough(Adjective)

   strong and resilient; sturdy

   The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

5. tough(Adjective)

   difficult to cut or chew

   To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

6. tough(Adjective)

   rugged or physically hardy

   Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

7. tough(Adjective)

   Stubborn.

   He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

8. tough(Adjective)

   harsh or severe

9. tough(Adjective)

   rowdy or rough.

   A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

10. tough(Adjective)

    difficult or demanding

    This is a tough crowd.

11. tough(Adjective)

    Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.

Origin: From toh, from tanhuz.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tough

   having the quality of flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably tough

2. Tough

   not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; as, tough sinews

3. Tough

   not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm

4. Tough

   stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow

5. Tough

   severe; violent; as, a tough storm

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tough

   tuf, adj. not easily broken: firm: stiff, viscous, sticky: stubborn, hard to manage, trying: violent: tenacious: able to endure hardship.—n. a rough, a bully.—v.t. or v.i. Tough′en, to make or become tough.—adj. Tough′ish, rather tough.—adv. Tough′ly.—n. Tough′ness. [A.S. tóh; cog. with Ger. zähe.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tough' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3162

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tough' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2971

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tough' in Adjectives Frequency: #328

Anagrams for tough »

1. ought

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tough in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tough in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of tough in a Sentence

1. Chief Executive Jeffrey Smith:

   It's a tough call.

2. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani:

   I like tough partners.

3. Glen Buckley:

   It's a tough business.

4. Richard Shelby:

   It's tough but doable.

5. Jeb Bush on his trek:

   War is incredibly tough.

Images & Illustrations of tough

Popularity rank by frequency of use